Safer Sleep

What is Safer Sleep?

Every year, a small number of babies sadly die suddenly and unexpectedly in the UK. This often happens when they are sleeping and with no immediate obvious cause. This is known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), previously referred to as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). 

In 2023, there were 188 unexplained infant deaths across the UK, including 164, or three a week in England and Wales. 

Although SUDI is rare it devastates lives. We know that following safer sleep advice every time your baby sleeps, day and night, can significantly reduce the risk.

Simple Safer Sleep Tips

  • Put your baby on their back for every sleep.
  • Use a clear, flat, firm sleep space such as a cot or Moses basket
  • Keep the sleep area free from soft toys, pillows and loose bedding.
  • Keep baby in a separate sleep space, in your room, for the first 6 months.
  • Never co‑sleep or co‑nap if you’ve had alcohol, drugs, medication that makes you drowsy, or if you smoke.

These small steps will help you keep your baby safer while they sleep during the day and at night.

Staying safe

Health professionals and local councils from Newcastle and Gateshead have created a short, animated video to help parents and carers keep their babies safer when they sleep. 

It explains why co‑sleeping or co‑napping for every sleep, including times when your routine changes due to unexpected or unplanned events, is never safe if:

  • you or your partner have drank alcohol
  • or taken drugs, including prescription or over‑the‑counter medicines, that can make you feel sleepy or drowsy
  • you share a bed with your baby if you or your partner smoke, or if the baby was exposed to smoking during pregnancy
  • your baby was born prematurely (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or if they weighed less than 2.5kg or 5.5lb when they were born.

The animation will support you to make safer choices for your baby. It will help you understand how alcohol, drugs, medication and smoking can increase the risk of suffocation and infant death. It offers simple, practical advice so every baby can sleep more safely.

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More information

Follow the links below for more support and advice on safer sleep, drug and alcohol services, and stop smoking support in Newcastle and Gateshead.

Newcastle                                                      

Gateshead

Both Newcastle & Gateshead